Rakesh Kapoor

Retired banker

Rakesh Kapoor (60) is a retired banker and lives with his wife in Jaipur. He has two daughters – his elder daughter, a financial journalist, works in Delhi, while the younger one, a coder, is based out of Bangalore. He left Mumbai in 2009 when he got transferred to Jaipur, but took an early retirement soon after because the bank he was working for (a nationalised bank) had been taken over by a bigger private sector one. Post retirement, he has taken to fitness in a big way and runs three-four kilometres every day followed by exercising. He was always fond of investing in the stock market and with ample time in hand he trades regularly. Back in his bachelor days he used to trek and he has seen most of the Himalayas on foot. He still travels whenever he can and his one vice includes reading and rereading Phantom comics.

Over these nine years, many people have asked me what did it feel like? Some have looked me straight in the eyes full of curiosity, some with sadness and some with disbelief. After all, somewhere we all believe that bomb blasts don't happen to us, they are what we hear about in news happening to other people.